candyprpl

The use of our agency requires great care, especially when we make judgements about other people. All our judgements must be guided by righteous standards. Only God, who knows each individual's heart, can make final judgements of individuals. I'm thankful for the gospel in my life and the added gift of discernment. I don't think I would have burned out so quickly in my volunteer work had I had the gospel in my life then. I love Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk given on 1 Mar. 1999 at BYU and printed in the Ensign, Aug. 1999. The opening statement: "There are two kinds of judging: final judgements, which we are forbidden to make, and intermediate judgements, which we are directed to make, but upon righteours principles." I don't know how to set up a link but it's an article worth reading. I don't know, but for me, it took a load off my mind, not having to make those final judgements. Yes, there is evil all around and when I think of people being born evil -- I'm not sure I want to go there with such a final statement. Having studied psychology and been around people who had serious problems with their thinking process and did evil things then yes, I can say they were born evil. They were born with brains who malfunctioned, so to speak. What I don't agree with is letting these inborn psychological problems get them off the hook by being unfit to stand trial. IMO they still need to be held accountable for their evil doings. I still stand by Elder Oaks, only God can know their final judgement.

I studied psychology and sociology in school and while doing this I volunteered in the CASA program. Court Appointed Special Advicate. We worked with the social services dept. We would be assigned one or two children to represent in court hearings. While doing this I was becoming very entrenched in the 'evil doings' of the world. It was very sad to see so much badness in the world. At the time I was not a member of the Church. When I joined the Church it was such a relief to see children growing up in happy healthy homes. I've talked to law enforcement officers and social workers who are members and they all tell me how hard it is to do their work and keep in mind that these people who choose to do evil acts are children of God. What still confuses me now is how some people who have had bad things happen to them will carry on with that kind of behavior. I am a survivor of child abuse and was raped when I was 14 and what I wanted to do was find out what made people do those things to innocent children AND be the best possible mother. All my studying and working in 'the system' never gave me the answers but it did make me more aware -- for that I am thankful. Be careful in your study of psychology -- not everyone is psychotic or a sociopath. It's easy to start labeling. Misshalfway hit it on the head (IMO) we are not born evil -- we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and we have been given a choice of which voice to listen to once we are born.

Call me a daddy's girl -- but my father was as good as they get! He always put my mother first and he truly did it unselfishly. His purpose in life was to be a good man and others saw that in him as well. My son (now 35yrs. old) has always told me how much he looked up to his granddaddy as being a good example of what a man should be like. Did he have faults, sure, but the fact that he was always striving to be a honest, hard-working, kind and loving person made him as close to perfect as I think any human can get.

I assume you're talking to me. I got married 3 months before my one year baptism anniversary. Because of our ages, we decided to first be married by the bishop and then go to the temple when we could to be sealed.

I was 50 (and single) when I joined the Church -- I couldn't wait to get my endowments. The Bishop told me that usually one gets their own endowments when they get married but in my case it would be different. Funny thing is, I met a new member, we were first married by the Bishop and then when we were able to both go to the temple, we both received our endowments and were sealed. It was a busy day! My sisters who have been members many years were present and we sealed our parents and were sealed to them as well! Quite an exciting day! I love going to the temple! I'm in the Primary Presidency now and my favorite primary song is, "I Love To See The Temple.":D

Welcome!!!! From New Mexico, USA

Yes, I agree -- I like not having to think of something clever or thought provoking!!:lol:

When I first saw the topic header, my first thought was, 'oh no, not again!' So I clicked on the OP and it was a link to an article. Great article! Yes, it is in a LDS mag -- but still quite interesting. I think Stephen E. Robinson hit all the points *exclusion by special definition *exclusion by misrepresentation *name calling *exclusion by tradition *the canonical or biblical exclusion *the doctrinal exclusion I have seen all these arguments on these threads for claiming that Latter-day Saints are not Christians. In the conclusion of this article -- "Notice that not one of these addresses the question of whether we accept Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God and Savior. Our critics don't address this -- the only issue that really matters -- for the LDS position here is an unassailable matter of record. Our first Article of Faith declares our belief in Jesus Christ." Good article!:)

My reason for leaving out so much of my past history is quite simply because I did not want to turn this discussion into that of only intellectual. In your OP you want to know what argument most convinced me to change my mind. There wasn't any argument. My conversion came strictly as a spiritual converstion. I'm not saying that I didn't use my intellect/reasoning to continue my conversion, but, that it started out very spiritually. How I came to have my testimony is not as important as having it. I've only been a member going on 5 years now and my testimony grows stronger as I study all the scriptures and pray daily to understand what I am reading. As I said before, I was raised Baptist. I believed what I was told. In the seminary classes I did start questioning and was unsatisfied with the answers I received. But we tend to stay where we are comfortable and so I stayed. I told you that my sisters had joined the LDS church -- they were in their teens when they joined -- they are ten and twelve years older than I am. I watched the kind of people they turned into and I admired their commitment to their church and families. In those days my attitude was, 'I'm glad they have found a church they like.' I do have answers for why I now believe so strongly what the LDS church teaches -- however, I really do feel it is fruitless to start giving you a bunch of scriptures that I feel back up my beliefs Prisonchaplin, who I greatly admire and have learned a great deal from, considers our beliefs heretical. I'm not sure that I will be able to say anything that will change your mind, and I know for sure that you will not be able to change my mind. I have received my answer from Heavenly Father that this is the true church and that Jesus Christ is the head of this church, that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, that the priesthood has been restored, and that the Prophet Joseph Smith was the prophet of God who brought about this restoration. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led today by a prophet of God and apostles. I have seen too many times on these threads debates starting over interpretations of scriptures -- like I stated -- how I came to have a strong testimony is not as important as the fact that I have one. I'm sorry, :(I know this is not what you want. Maybe I shouldn't have posted in the first place. It's hard not to want to share my testimony and so that is why I posted in the beginning.:)

Whoever made up this list -- I wonder what their definition of conservative is.

Galatians220 Welllllll.....I did leave out a lot (on purpose). I come from a long line of Baptist ministers -- and still have many cousins who are ministers. My parents were the best christians I have ever known (but I'm meeting more now). I was married to a baptist minister and I attended seminary classes with him. So I have studied the Bible a lot. I did go through a time of wandering (as you put it)before leaving it all behind. It was while I professed to be agnostic that I knew the something that was missing in my life was something spiritual. I even tried many different disciplines of spirituality. There is in my town a baptist church that I started attending infrequently and liked the minister. My conversion to LDS came step by step as I studied more and was finally getting the answers to my questions that no other religion or student of the Bible had been able to give me. I will not get into debates on scriptures -- tried that -- didn't like it -- I will leave that up to the others who like it. Sorry I couldn't help. Good luck.

I feel scared to even comment on this thread -- I'm not real learned and maybe you will be able to discredit me for that -- no problem. I was raised Baptist, baptized when I was 14 and very happy to be a part of that religious sect. Then I decided that there wasn't a true church or religion and started doubting God and Jesus altogether -- then claimed to be agnostic. That lasted many years until my life became so difficult that I went back to looking for answers about 'life'. When I tried to end my life one final time the Lord granted me an amazing insight/experience. My sisters who had been LDS for many years came to my hospital room and asked me if I would like a Priesthood blessing. I didn't hesitate in answering yes. At that same time, I heard a heavenly voice whisper in my other ear, "Are you ready to do it my way?" After my recovery I started taking the lessons from the missionaries. It didn't matter what scriptures they chose for me to read or any of the discussions that converted me, it was the answers I got directly from my Heavenly Father. Even when I accepted the invitation to be baptized -- I didn't understand why I needed to be baptized again -- my baptism at age 14 was done in the same manner. It was exercising faith that I entered the waters again -- then received conclusive evidence that one must be baptized by one having authority. When I came up out of the water and looked at the missionary who baptized me, I felt like I was looking at John the Baptist. May sound corny, but it's true. And having the Gift of the Holy Ghost is an experience like I have never had before. Reading the Book of Mormon has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father -- I know him and I know he knows me personally. You asked -- I answered in a very simple form.

My short answer would be to pray as you study the scriptures and the scriptures that will help get you through this horrible ordeal will appear. It's been my experience that help for my particular problem has come this way and not by someone telling me what to read. Our dear Heavenly Father speaks to us in very specific ways and not all scripture verses say the same thing to each of us. In the May 2009 conference issue, Pres. Monson's talk, "Be Of Good Cheer" is a wonderful talk. A month before this conference my husband's youngest son (30yrs old) died quite suddenly. He had a massive seisure and died alone in his home. It was a difficult time for both of us. The whole conference gave both of us much comfort in our loss. It doesn't matter what age they are, they are still your babies and it's hard to have such a loss. Knowing the plan of salvation has given us much comfort. My advice is to study the plan of salvation -- ask the missionaries all your questions -- they are the Lord's servants and are inspired to answer your questions. And of course, pray, pray, pray and pray. Be sure to listen for answers. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

bounce

It's a great book! It's not long but it definitely gets you thinking. I'm sorry it stayed at the bottom of my reading list for so long.

(I had to resurrect this thread because I just read this book) Well dear checkerboy -- I'm the husband as well, but in reality, I'm a wife:eek: Every step of the way I was right there with Rick(y) -- full of 'yeah, but, what about....' I'm still struggling with getting to the supposed happy ending that Rick had. My marriage is no where near to distruction that Rick's was but I could see that it could get there if I don't stop being such a 'Jonah.' I pray that some day I will be able to be an Abegail as well. Many times I got frustrated with the book (part of who I am:p) because I just wanted the answer -- I didn't want to try and figure it out for myself^_^ I think this book has answers in stages. Understanding the Atonement and what it means in our lives is definitely an ongoing process.

My focus lately has been, 'being one with Christ.' Always asking (every minute) what thought would Christ have right now (then listen), what would Christ do in this situation (then listen), would Christ talk to that homeless person (then listen), are my prayers meaningful (then listen), am I showing gratitude for this beautiful planet (then listen), do I need to do more in magnifying my callings (then listen). And on and on. These questions and listening to the answers have brought me closer to always having the Spirit to be with me. Staying focused on the Atonement and what it means. I love this gospel!!! Before I was baptized four years ago I definitely had times when the 'light of Christ' helped me get through hard times but the Gift of the Holy Ghost is sooooo much more. I FEEL the difference in my day to day actions. Jesus Christ is my constant companion and I am so thankful that I am weak enough to need Him in my life!

circle

promise

I LOVE PRIMARY!!!!!!!! Bikes or snow sleds?

I'm about halfway through the book. I like the honesty of the book. It took me a long time to really have a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet. I never thought that a mortal man would need to be perfect to be a prophet -- we all know there has only been one mortal man that was perfect. Did the times and other religions have an affect on JS and what he prophesied? Yes, of course. Does that hurt my testimony that he was/is a prophet? No. The more my testimony of the Church grows -- the more blessings I receive from the restored priesthood -- the more miracles I see and hear about on an almost daily basis -- the more I know that he was/is a prophet of God. I agree with Jenamarie -- it has given me a new perspective of the early days of the church and of JS. I'm enjoying this new prespective.

gloss teaching or being taught?

neither. Housework or yardwork?

pancakes

Man is apt to look too high or expect too great things so that they often times mistake the Spirit of God and the inspiration of the Almighty. It is not in the thunder or whirlwind that we should look for the Spirit of God but in the still small voice. Wilford Woodruff If we stop and feel during prayer, we sometimes hear a still small voice, which enters quietly into our mind and heart. It is so simple and so precise that we often pass it by, thinking that it is just our own idea or a passing thought, not revelation. However, as we reconcile these wisperings to what we know to be true, we soon learn to recognize them; and by recognizing them, we become more able to listen carefully. Joseph B. Wirthlin